Presently Magnetogas- or Magnetohydro-dynamics (MGD or MHD) electrical generation, patents and applications use conditioned fluids. That is the working fluid traveling down a magnetic flux filled channel is forced into a state of ionization and conductivity by means such as seeding (the addition or treating of one material with more readily ionized material) or by an a priori selection of naturally or readily conductive fluids such as Mercury or Hydrogen Peroxide. This invention utilizes the discovery of a mass slug or Treacle, formed within the reaction zone of a shock wave's discontinuity independent of any fluid conditioning and utilizes its beneficial effect of electrical generation during confined transit down a flux filled channel. A shock wave's leading edge will cooperate with the material in front of it to form a slug of mass called the Treacle. This slug of mass is frequently applied to various applications such as military weapons. A shock wave's leading edge is a discontinuity. It is a rapid rise from one state of environmental conditions of pressure, temperature, density, and velocity to yet another higher state. Its thickness is expressed in Mean Free Paths or the average distance traveled by a moving particle such as an atom or molecule between successive collisions and not currently a directly measurable quantity. For example, a Treacle applied to the human body will rupture ear drums, collapse chest cavities and destroy brain cells or otherwise re-arrange the neurons. Mechanical and electrical equipment is especially sensitive to a Treacle and results in cessation of the equipment's mission. Shields to prevent biological or mechanical damage typically comprise robust and massive deflectors. The deflectors may be pre-emplaced heavy blast doors made of concrete, steel, or other shock absorbing materials. Such blast doors are themselves subject to damage when utilized to deflect a Treacle. Additionally, due to their size and weight, heavy blast shields deploy slowly relative to the propagation rate of a Treacle generated by an explosive event.
In addition to deflecting a Treacle, it is desirable to intentionally generate the Treacle and utilize the Treacle as an energy source in lieu of other energy sources. For example, capacitors may convert electrical energy stored in batteries to high power microwave energy. The high power microwave energy may be utilized in various high power microwave systems such as, for example, radar imaging, communications, radar detection and weapons that disable equipment and electronic devices. However, the batteries commonly require a large volume to produce enough power for the effective operation of the high power microwave systems. Effective operation may be facilitated by producing the necessary amount of power with a volume of explosive material that is several orders of magnitude smaller than the volume of the batteries by dissipating the energy of a Treacle generated by the explosive material with an electrical load.
Accordingly, a need exists for methods, systems, algorithms, signal processing means and devices for determining the macroscopic makeup of an ionized (conductive) Treacle, a slug of mass, in order to evaluate it and apply it to military and industrial hardware and power generation applications.